Wednesday, 16 March 2016

London Central Kings Cross Travelodge Review

We recently stayed at the Central Kings Cross Travelodge. Travelodge is a popular UK hotel chain known for affordable prices. The Central Kings Cross hotel is in a great location, just a few minutes walk away from Kings Cross and St Pancras stations. It's also near to the British Library, Regents Park and a short bus or tube ride to the central London shopping areas. I know this area well as I studied my first degree just down the road at UCL. This hotel is a wonderful base for visiting London.

I had stayed in Travelodge once previously, that being the City Road Travelodge on the night of Britmums Live 2015 conference and it was quite a disappointing stay unfortunately. I remember turning up, waiting in a long queue at reception and a problem with my booking. A room was not available despite having booked an 'early check-in'. I then had to wait for a room to be cleaned before I could check in. Usually I wouldn't mind the wait but I was keen to get to the conference on time so the delay made a big difference. The room was quite small and very hot at night, something I usually like, but even with the windows open it was still too hot and noisy. I didn't get a good nights sleep at all. However, when I was invited back for a review at another hotel I thought I'd give it a second chance. This time the stay was a completely different experience.

We reviewed a family sized room at the Central Kings Cross Travelodge. Upon checking in, the reception desk were very helpful and friendly. There was a lift up to our floor and the room was easy to find. The room was huge and easily big enough for a family of four/five with a double bed, two extra single beds and a cot. There was plenty of running/jumping space for an active toddler! The room was perfectly clean and came with all the usual amenities including a television with 17 channels, private bathroom with shower, king size dreamer bed and tea and coffee making facilities.

I had read some of the reviews facing onto the road stating that their rooms were noisy. Our room was at the at the back of the building and fairly quiet. I did hear a bit of banging from building works across the road in the day but that soon stopped and nothing kept us up at night. It was a very peaceful night. The double bed was super comfortable and toddler slept very well too.

Breakfast was included in our stay and is served in a beautiful bright and airy room with big windows. The London Central Kings Cross Travelodge is one of the very few that don't serve a cooked breakfast which was a little disappointing to hear. However, they had more than enough food to choose from including croissants, cereal, toast, yoghurts, pastries, fruit and delicious coffee! The food was regularly topped up much to my little boy's delight - he has a big appetite!

Travelodge provides 30 minutes free of internet and additional usage is charged at £3 for 24 hours. I do think full internet access should be included in the room cost. Most public places have free internet access these days and I think any hotel in a big city, especially London, should provide unlimited usage for their hotel guests!The London Central Kings Cross Travelodge does not have a restaurant so there aren't any options for lunch, dinner or room service, all which would be a bonus but there are many restaurants/cafes/take-aways in the area including those in Kings Cross & St Pancras stations.One of the big benefits of staying at a Travelodge is that kids under 16 stay free and eat breakfast for free. Prices for a family room at the Central Kings Cross Travelodge start at just £45 if booked in advance, amazing value for money! Given our experience I would definitely stay at Travelodge again especially at the London Central Kings Cross branch.

Have you stayed in a Travelodge hotel? What was your experience?

Thanks to Travelodge for providing the room for the purpose of the review. All words and opinions are my own.Linking up with #thelist

I've got a couple of stays at Travelodges coming up this year - both for blogging conferences so I'm really hoping for a good sleep away from the kids :) Thy sound great for families but I have to agree with you that it would be nice to have free wifi #thelist

Hello! I'm Polly (Brighton Mama) and I write about parenting, lifestyle and adventures with my little three year old son, 'Pip' ❤ We live in the mostly sunny seaside town of Brighton, UK. Read more on my About Page.